Fair Grounds: Horses to single in the $3,028 Pick 6 carryover

The Sunday card at Fair Grounds brings a $3,028 non-jackpot carryover in the $1 Pick 6. The sequence begins with the third race (3:15 p.m. ET). 

Planning to play along? We’re here to help with a pair of suggested singles to build tickets around:

Race 6: $40,000 Maiden Claiming: #3 Celluloid Hero (5-2)

Only seven horses have entered this one-mile and 70-yard contest, and among the seven, morning line favorite Celluloid Hero looms as a possible standout.

Four of Celluloid Hero’s six starts have come in sprints, but route racing appears to be his true forte. Indeed, Celluloid Hero’s two best efforts have come racing one mile and 70 yards, finishing third in maiden special weights at Delaware Park and Fair Grounds while earning sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 79 and 82.

None of Celluloid Hero’s rivals has earned a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 80 on dirt, so that 82 rating—posted only 23 days ago at Fair Grounds—looks rock-solid. Celluloid Hero has the tactical speed to work out a favorable pacesetting trip, and the fact trainer Hugh Robertson wins at a 33% rate with horses dropping from maiden special weight to maiden claiming company further cements Celluloid Hero as a logical Pick 6 single.

Race 7: Maiden Special Weight: #4 Just Say So (5-2)

A maximum of eight three-year-old fillies will face the starter in this about one-mile turf test, and while there are some promising first-time starters in the mix, Just Say So has the appearance of a viable single.

Just Say So showed promise in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight over the Kentucky Downs turf course last year, rallying from dead last in a field of 12 to finish fifth behind next-out Matron (G3) winner American Apple. Just Say So subsequently spent four months on the sidelines before making her route debut in a Jan. 16 maiden special weight racing about 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds, where she rallied to finish second by 2 1/4 lengths.

Hot trainer Eddie Kenneally wins at a 30% rate with horses running long for the second time, and jockey Reylu Gutierrez (the leading rider at Fair Grounds this meet) is named to ride, so Just Say So has high-profile connections in her corner. And with a promising comeback effort under her belt, Just Say So figures to be tough to beat while sticking to the same course and class level on Sunday.

Good luck!